Uncommon courage
Some years ago, there was this superb ad running on TV about a guy for whom even a local train bothers to slow down. As he gets into the compartment, his co-commuters share an idea why the aforementioned miracle happened. Turns out the young man had done something remarkable just the day before. Apparently, a group of loafers were harassing a girl in the train and our hero decided to stand up. He didn’t wait for others to take an initiative. “Yeh bhaisaab akele hi bidh gaye,” adds a bespectacled elder in the video. The details of his actions weren’t conveyed but the message was clear: he did a brave job in a city and an era that strictly follows the tujhe kya policy.
PS: I’ve been trying to find that bravery award commercial on YouTube but to no avail. Also the year when it came out on air, i was in Nashik and had done something similar with a different result. I ended up with bruises and the damsel was still in distress.